Chris Judd on discomfort as a workout tool

Modern life is built around comfort. We order our food on apps. We socialise on our phones. We have instant access to entire series of shows from our couch.

As a society, we’ve grown so accustomed to avoiding the things that make us feel uncomfortable — especially when it comes to exercise.

But if you’re looking to make significant changes in your life, like losing weight or feeling healthier, it’s important that you accept that it’s not always going to feel comfortable. Sometimes it might even hurt.

Let’s face it, the first time you head out for a run or lift some weights, chances are you’re going to end up feeling sick, out of breath or like your heart’s beating out of your chest. This is natural. It’s how you’re supposed to feel. It’s how your body tells you it’s working.

Discomfort is in our DNA

We don’t often take a moment to remember we’re animals designed to hunt, gather and take physical risks. The concept of feeling good every second of every day is unrealistic.

If you spend your life trying to avoid the minor discomfort of exercise — the stiff muscles, the achy joints or the afterburn — you could end up hitting a certain age and finding out your body doesn’t work how you want it to anymore.

We exercise for a reason — to keep ourselves in as good a physical and mental condition as we can. If we don’t, we’re at risk of getting sick, developing heart disease, or worse. I think we can all agree that any of these things is a lot more uncomfortable than a session at the gym or playing a game of tennis.

Uncomfortable is good

Whenever I’ve had a really tough workout, I usually start to feel great within about half an hour — mainly because of the endorphins rushing through my body.

The inverse can also be true when I do something that isn’t great for my body, like eating a greasy burger and chips. It feels highly comfortable at the time but doesn’t sit so well half-an-hour later. Alcohol is the exception to the rule, where I feel terrific while drinking and half-an-hour later — becoming much better looking and charming — before struggling about 12 hours post-event!

This is how it works: Short-term boosts often don’t serve us in the long run. Ask anyone who’s achieved something great in their lives, and they’ll tell you that it wasn’t easy at the time. They’ve had to push themselves to get there.

I know when I’m 80-years-old, I’ll look back over my life and I’ll see that everything I’m really proud of was achieved surrounded by a period of uncertainty because it pushed me to, or close to, my capacity. By pushing myself, I’ve learned another important lesson: the more you do something and expose yourself to that uneasiness, the more comfortable you become being uncomfortable.

Consistently striving

Without a doubt, a lot of the things I used to find challenging now feel a whole a lot easier because of the exposure that those challenges regularly received. For a long time during my 20s, I was terrified of public speaking — I hated it. Now, I’ve done it so many times that I don’t mind it (much).

The same can be said for exercise and eating right. You might not want that salad at first because it doesn’t give you the same rush of sugar, salt or fat, but after a while the longer-term comfort you achieve from improved health far outweighs missing out on the short-term comfort provided by sugary and fatty processed foods.

On OneLife this month, I’m exploring the benefits of getting out of your comfort zone — both physical and mental.

So next time you feel uncomfortable remember: it’s natural, it’s human, and it’s perfectly healthy.